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Can anxiety be just in your head?
People with anxiety disorders often feel that their concerns are not taken seriously or that it’s all in their heads. This minimizes their pain and discomfort, and leaves psychiatric and associated medical conditions unaddressed. It should be noted that the statement it’s all in your head is not entirely wrong. The anxiety problem most associated with scary or distressing thoughts is obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD. Those with OCD suffer from what’s known as obsessions. Obsessions are thoughts that they simply cannot get out of their head. Everyday worries take place in your thoughts, while anxiety often manifests physically in the body, Devore explains. You might feel faint or lightheaded. The even better news: Many people respond well to anxiety treatment without medication. They find that their condition can often be managed entirely, or at least in part, with lifestyle changes and holistic therapies. The even better news: Many people respond well to anxiety treatment without medication. They find that their condition can often be managed entirely, or at least in part, with lifestyle changes and holistic therapies. People with health anxiety often misinterpret normal or benign physical symptoms and attribute them to something more serious. For example, if they were to compress an arm while asleep, instead of rolling over and shaking off the numb feeling, they might worry they were having a stroke.
Can anxiety trick your brain?
But when does this run haywire in our minds? When we are more susceptible to stress, depression, or anxiety, our brains may be playing tricks on us. A cycle of continuing to look for what is wrong makes it easier to find what is wrong out there. It’s called a confirmation bias. When we are more susceptible to stress, depression, or anxiety, our brains may be playing tricks on us. A cycle of continuing to look for what is wrong makes it easier to find what is wrong out there. It’s called a confirmation bias. Plus, whether you’re fixating on the past or catastrophizing about the future, thought patterns that are more destructive than constructive can take a toll on both your mental health and physical health. Studies show that ruminating on stressful events can, over time, lead to anxiety and depression, warns Dr. Fowler.
What part of the head does anxiety affect?
The amygdala, located deep inside the brain, is part of the emotional brain. According to this theory, we only feel anxiety when signals from the emotional brain overpower the cognitive brain, and into our consciousness. Anxiety can be caused by a variety of things: stress, genetics, brain chemistry, traumatic events, or environmental factors. Symptoms can be reduced with anti-anxiety medication. But even with medication, people may still experience some anxiety or even panic attacks. People under stress experience mental and physical symptoms, such as irritability, anger, fatigue, muscle pain, digestive troubles, and difficulty sleeping. Anxiety, on the other hand, is defined by persistent, excessive worries that don’t go away even in the absence of a stressor. Epinephrine is just one chemical involved in your body’s response to anxiety. Other chemicals may also play a role. For example, a serotonin imbalance¹ may contribute to anxiety, as can high cortisol levels. However, epinephrine is the primary chemical because it is directly involved in your anxiety symptoms. In some cases, the emotions become so severe they lead to a panic attack, a sort of weaponized anxiety that hits fast and hard and includes such symptoms as dizziness, rapid heart rate, depersonalization or out-of-body experience and a fear of losing control or dying.